Firefighters rescue kitten from 4-inch sewer pipe

PORTLAND -- A kitten trapped in a sewer pipe and meowing for help was rescued by firefighters Sunday evening.

Crews were dispatched about 7:30 p.m. to NE 118th and Sandy after residents heard a trapped kitten in the walls of a basement, said Portland Fire Bureau spokesman Ron Rouse.

Firefighters were sent from a Parkrose station and learned that a series of sewer pipes in the building were buried four feet deep. A crew from downtown Portland joined them, to help with the unusual situation.

The firefighters unsuccessfully used their camera equipment to try and find the kitten. Then, a plumber was called and his snake camera spotted the kitty 20 feet into a 4-inch pipe.

Firefighters blew air into the pipe, which prompted the cat to turn and walk toward the opening it had entered. The process still took six hours, but the kitten finally emerged.

Firefighter Scott Pearson was the first to grab the kitten and named it Champ.

"It was scared and hungry", said Pearson, "but I'm sure that it was glad to be out of that dark, damp hole."